Prevalence of refractive error among school-aged children in Sylhet division of Bangladesh

According to recent statistics from WHO, 150 million people globally have visual impairments caused by uncorrected refractive errors. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence rate of refractive error in Bangladesh's urban, rural, and marginalized populations (tea gardens). This was a cross-sectional study conducted among all school-going children (Class I-X) aged 5 to 18. The study adopted the stratified cluster sampling method to recruit study subjects. A pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire was used for face-to-face interviews. Trained optometrists carried out vision screening and refraction to identify children with vision impairment. The prevalence of refractive error is 5.3 per 100 population in which myopia is the most common form of refractive error found in 125 (78.6%, 95% CI: 77.1–80.1), followed by astigmatism in 20 (12.6%, 95% CI: 11.4–13.8) and the rest of the cases are hyperopia among 14 (8.8%, 95% CI: 7.8–9.8) children. At the time of the vision screening, only 25 (15.7%) children using spectacles were found. The study findings also showed that urban areas had the highest percentage of refractive error (9.9%), and rural and tea gardens had 3.9% and 2.1% refractive error, respectively. Refractive error was relatively higher among girls’ (AOR = 1.5, p < 0.01, 95%CI: 1.07–2.11) in comparison with boys’ and the percentage of refractive error was three times higher within the secondary school-going children (AOR = 3.2, p < 0.01, 95%CI: 1.23–8.08) compared to primary school children. The prevalence of refractive error was higher in the above-ten-year-old age group and significantly lower in rural and tea garden populations. To resolve these challenges, an assortment of comprehensive strategies must be implemented.